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Kennedy Attempt to Increase Tax Killed in Senate [05/20-6]

The amendment sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy [D-MA] to raise the tax which would be imposed under the McCain bill from $1.10 over 5 years to $1.50 over 3 years was defeated by a vote in the Senate of 58-40 (with one senator voting "present') at approximately 4:30 PM on Wednesday.

LOOK BELOW TO SEE WHO VOTED AGAINST THE INCREASE

Excerpts from SENATE REJECTS $1.50 PER PACK HIKE

By David Espo, Associated Press [05/20/98]

The Senate rejected a proposed $1.50-per-pack tax hike on cigarettes Wednesday, deciding that a smaller increase of $1.10 was enough to discourage teen-agers from smoking.

The 58-40 vote was a setback for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and other liberals who said the larger increase was essential to save the lives of youngsters who might be tempted to start smoking.

But it was a key victory for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and others trying to keep the sweeping tobacco measure from unraveling under the pressure of proposed changes from both ends of the political spectrum.

``This is about saving lives,'' said Kennedy. ``This is, I think the most important public health amendment we have.''

The vote on Kennedy's proposal came after the Senate, by a much wider margin, rejected an effort by conservatives to eliminate the entire tax.

That vote was 72-26, and came after conservatives, led by Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., attacked the legislation as a ``massive tax increase'' that will hit low-income Americans the hardest.

As drafted, the measure would raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by $1.10 and give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate nicotine. The hundreds of billions of dollars that would flow to the government from the price hike would go to states to help defray their health care costs as well as a variety of other areas such as health research, tobacco farmers and advertising to discourage teen smoking.

``It looks to me like the big stall,'' said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., in late morning, after Ashcroft had been speaking for more than an hour.

``We're four hours behind schedule,'' added Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., after Ashcroft finally concluded his remarks.

``We're talking about the lives of American children,'' said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. ``It is an insult to suggest that the parents of ... the poorest children in America don't care as much about their kids having access to tobacco as other parents.''

Still, it was clear that some Democrats were wary of being tagged with responsibility for a big tax increase. Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, the Senate Democratic leader, told reporters during the day that the proper name for the add-on was a ``health fee.'

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Description

Senators tabled an amendment by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) that would have increased the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.50.

A "Yea" [yes] vote is a vote to table (kill) the amendment to raise the tax, and therefore is a vote AGAINST increasing the tax by $1.50.

A "Nay" [no] vote is a vote to keep alive the amendment to raise the tax, and therefore is a vote FOR increasing the tax by $1.50.

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